Developmental antecedents of cardiovascular disease: a historical perspective.

Knowledge of the fetal antecedents of cardiovascular disease has increased rapidly since the association between low birth weight and the disease was demonstrated 20 yr ago. It now is known that individuals who had low birth weight or who were thin or short at birth are at increased risk for both cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. This has been shown in studies in different countries and cannot be explained by confounding variables. Through clinical and animal studies, the biologic processes that underlie the epidemiologic associations and how their effects are modified by postnatal growth and by living conditions in childhood and adult life are beginning to be understood. One such process is altered renal development, with reduced nephron numbers, which may initiate hypertension.